School History

Moulsford Preparatory School was founded in 1961, although the building had been used for educational purposes since 1931.

1875	The main school building dates back to 1875, when it was built as Cranford House by Mr Hawkins of Field, Hawkins & Ponking, then a department store opposite Wallingford Town Hall.
1931	In 1931, Miss Winifred E. Laurence, who grew up and lived at Cranford House, started tutoring children, and turned the grounds into rounders, football and cricket pitches as numbers expanded.
1950	By 1950, Miss Laurence’s pupil numbers had grown to a point where Cranford House (the current Moulsford Prep School site) was used only as a boarding house and the main school and classrooms moved across the road.
1961	In 1961, Miss Laurence sold her home to Mr Mortimer and Mr Hale. They opened the building as Moulsford Preparatory School with 13 boys.
1994	Mr Mortimer and Mr Hale were succeeded by Mr Dunkerley, and then Mr Rod Jarman, who continued to increase numbers until his retirement in 1994, by which time there were 165 boys in the school. From 1994 to 2014, the school thrived under the outstanding leadership of Mr Mike Higham. As the numbers continued to expand over his twenty-year tenure, an extensive development programme was put in place to provide continuously improving facilities and accommodation. These included a Theatre, Music School, Sports Hall, an Astro-turf all-weather pitch, new classrooms, three new Science Laboratories and two new ICT suites complete with the latest Apple Mac computers, a new Art Room and a large Design and Technology centre – all of which we continue to use and enjoy today.
1997	Moulsford's Pre-Prep department was opened in 1997, and has evolved to take boys from Reception to Year 2.
2014	Mr Ben Beardmore-Gray, the current Headmaster, took up his post upon the retirement of Mike Higham in 2014.